The present invention relates to a reel mower such as that used for mowing golf greens or fairways or for mowing sports arenas, for example, and more specifically relates to the usage of a rotary brush with such a mower.
Grass clumping is a problem attendant with reel mower cutting units for cutting any grassy areas where a even length of cut is desired, golf greens or fairways being typical of such areas. Clumping is especially a problem when such cutting units are equipped with rear-mounted grass catchers since sticky grass clippings tend to cling to the catcher structure and then fall onto the rear roller or between the rear roller and the bedknife support where the clippings collect and eventually fall off in clumps which detract from the appearance of the turf.
Another problem which occurs in the growing and care of golf course turf, especially that used on greens, is that the grass sends out runners which tend to become matted and the traversing of the grass by mowers tends to cause the grass to become oriented in the same direction such that a graining condition is caused which is undesirable for putting.
It is known to mount a bristle brush to sweep the turf forwardly of a reel mower cutting unit for the purposes of lifting runners, controlling graining and picking up matted growths. It is also known to mount a rotary brush adjacent the rear roller of a reel mower cutting unit for the sole purpose of keeping the rear roller free of grass build-up to ensure a consistent height of cut and to prevent unsightly clumps of grass from being deposited on the turf surface. Examples of such rotary brushes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,816,985 granted on Jun. 18, 1974 to Sorenson et al and U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,996 granted on May 10, 1977 to Bartlett et al.